Political Breakdown

San Francisco’s public schools are in crisis. The district is facing a budget deficit, potential school closures and HR problems. Mayor London Breed has sent in a team of city experts to help the district, but it comes as she faces a tough re-election. Marisa and Scott talk about all that with the San Francisco Chronicle's education reporter Jill Tucker.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yesterday the state Assembly passed two bills taking aim at gasoline price spikes, after hours of hearings in a special session called by Gov. Gavin Newsom. Plus, the governor signs a package of reparation bills including one issuing a formal apology for California perpetuating slavery in its early days as a state. Scott and Guy are joined by Politico senior California politics and policy reporter Jeremy B. White.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A controversial ballot measure in Sonoma County could reshape agriculture in the region and beyond. Measure J would ban so-called “concentrated animal feeding operations" — essentially a prohibition on large farms, which proponents of the measure derisively call factory farms. It has split the historic agricultural community, pitting, as Politico put it, “people who shop at farmers markets against those who supply them." Marisa and Guy talk with The Press Democrat's Phil Barber and University of Iowa professor Silvia Secchi about how Measure J could affect farming far beyond California's borders.

Learn more about Measure J and everything else on your ballot with the KQED Voter Guide.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Barbara Boxer retired from the U.S. Senate in 2016, but she’s still actively engaged in politics. Part of that includes supporting the Democrat Will Rollins against incumbent Republican Rep. Ken Calvert in one of the hotly contested congressional races in California that could determine control of the House. Scott talks with Boxer from her home in Rancho Mirage about that race, the historic 2024 election, thoughts about her friend Joe Biden dropping out and what's at stake in November.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Everyone knows that California is not a swing state when it comes to presidential races, but the state could decide which party controls Congress. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report lists 69 competitive House races across the country and 10 of them are in California. 

Marisa, Scott and Guy analyze a new poll this week that shows incredibly tight races in six of those California congressional districts. Democrats seem to have the edge, but the survey shows all the races within the margin of error.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The two recent assassination attempts on former President Donald Trump raised troubling questions about why the U.S. Secret Service failed. Scott and Marisa talk with The Washington Post's national investigative reporter Carol Leonnig about how the agency works, its past failures and what we've learned in the past three months. Leonnig is the author of "Zero Fail: The Rise and Fall of the Secret Service."

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The dust has settled on last night’s debate — sponsored by KQED and The San Francisco Chronicle — with the leading candidates for mayor of San Francisco. Scott, Marisa and Guy discuss highlights and takeaways from the debate, where incumbent London Breed was regularly in the hot seat.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

KQED and The San Francisco Chronicle host a live debate with the top five candidates for mayor of San Francisco tonight at 7 p.m. Scott, Marisa and the Chronicle's Joe Garofoli preview the debate and discuss the state of the race and how it could be affected by ranked choice voting.

The debate will be available live, streaming online and broadcast on 88.5FM and KQED 9 TV

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the 2000s, ballooning pension costs were blowing up city and state budgets in California, leading cities like San Francisco to raise the retirement age for firefighters and abandon a program that let police collect a salary and a pension at the same time. Now, San Francisco voters will consider two ballot measures to reinstate those benefits. Marisa talks with Joe Eskenazi, the managing editor at Mission Local, about why these measures are on the ballot and what they would mean for the city budget. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A national network of Black sororities and fraternities might just be Vice President Kamala Harris’ secret weapon. Known as the Divine Nine, with more than 2.5 million members nationwide, they're in high gear to help usher Harris into the presidency. Scott talks with one member: Los Angeles Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices